Buster must fight for his place back at Rotherham Titans

Guy Williams

As Rotherham Titans prepare for their second game in the British and Irish Cup at London Welsh on Saturday, they do so without forward Buster Lawrence, one of the summer’s major signings.

The former Moseley number eight injured an ankle in the match at Richmond towards the end of last month and hasn’t played since. Lawrence, 24, missed the league games against Yorkshire Carnegie and Bedford and then the B&I Cup tie at home to Doncaster.

But thankfully he has some good news: “My right ankle is now feeling much better and I expect to be able to resume full training next week. It’s slowly coming along, I’m back running and the physios are taking great care of me,” says Lawrence who was starting to make progress in the four Championship games in which he appeared before injury.

Before joining Moseley where he played for three seasons, Lawrence began his career at his local Bristol, Dings Crusaders, who then competed in National Two.

Once Moseley were relegated last season, Rotherham signed him, a move which delighted Lawrence.

“The Titans’ coach Justin Burnell has a high reputation, so it wasn’t a hard choice to come here. The coaches have very high standards; there’s no messing about. Justin tells you the good and the bad things. Once I’m ready to play again, what concerns me is whether I will get back in the side. It’s going to be tough. There’s real competition in the back row now that the Gloucester boys have come in.

“The boys already here, Tom MacDonald and Ollie Curry, are playing well, so I chose the wrong time to get injured!

“But I’m enjoying it at Rotherham, I held my place in the team for four weeks and while I know I have things to work on, I hope to make an impact at the club. It’s up to me to improve.”

As Lawrence tries to win his place back, he thinks he may have to go out on loan to another Yorkshire club once he’s fit.